Obama to address ASU grads, boost his profile in state

President Barack Obama is returning to the East Valley for the second time in three months, underscoring Arizona's appeal as a potential 2012 swing state as he highlights his education priorities.

Obama will deliver the May 13 commencement address at Arizona State University's graduation ceremony. The appearance follows the Feb. 18 speech he delivered about his housing-mortgage rescue plan at Dobson High School in Mesa.

University officials invited Obama to speak to the 8,000 graduates at the commencement, traditionally held at Wells Fargo Arena. Obama last visited the school in October 2007, when he drew a crowd of about 7,000 to a rally.

During the presidential campaign, ASU boasted one of the largest Obama chapters in the country.

"The president recognizes that educational achievement and economic prosperity have gone hand in hand in this country," Moira Mack, a White House spokeswoman, said in an e-mailed statement.

"As America works to recover from this economic crisis, students like those graduating from Arizona State University will be better prepared to compete in this 21st-century economy.

"That's why President Obama has made strengthening education a cornerstone of his economic-recovery plans."

Political experts say Obama's attention to Arizona is no surprise: His top strategists believe he can flip the state from red to blue in 2012.

Many analysts have suggested that the once reliably Republican Arizona is now essentially a purple swing state, and they say chalk up John McCain's victory over Obama here last year to the home-state advantage of the GOP senator.

"Other than Missouri, it is the state Obama is most likely to target that he lost in 2008," said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. "And it makes sense.

"Arizona's demographics are not that much different from (nearby pro-Obama states) Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico. The only different variable was McCain."

Obama specifically is demonstrating an affinity for the GOP-leaning 5th Congressional District, which includes Tempe, Scottsdale and Fountain Hills and parts of Phoenix, Mesa and Chandler.

Obama's appearance at Dobson High School also was in Mitchell's district.

"This exciting news makes me particularly proud as an alumni and adjunct faculty member at ASU, and as a lifelong resident of Tempe," Mitchell said Friday in a written statement.

ASU's ceremony originally was scheduled for May 14 but was moved up a day to accommodate the president's schedule. The location has not been finalized.

Those attending the May 13 ceremony at 7 p.m. likely will have to go through security precautions.

Lisa Fernandez is a 21-year-old senior who will graduate in May with a political-science degree.

She said she considers it an honor to have the nation's president at the graduation ceremony.

Fernandez, a Democrat who voted for Obama, said the extra security will be worth it.

"It's something we're willing to sacrifice for him speaking at our graduation," she said.

Ben Stewart, president of the College Republicans at ASU, said the president's visit will be great for the school.

"It's not during the campaign, so I can't be too upset. I won't be protesting," said Stewart, who is 23 and will earn a bachelor's degree in political science in May.

ASU President Michael Crow said in a statement that the students who choose to attend the ceremony will be honored at the opportunity to hear directly from the nation's leader, regardless of their personal political affiliation.

ASU is one of three colleges where Obama will speak this year.

He also will appear at the University of Notre Dame on May 17 and the U.S. Naval Academy on May 22.

President Barack Obama's commencement address will add another chapter to Arizona State University's presidential history.

Former President Theodore Roosevelt was photographed in 1911 speaking from the steps of Old Main on the Tempe campus of what was then a pre-university Normal School.

In 1989, former President Ronald Reagan, not long out of office, gave a speech at the ASU Activity Center, which today is Wells Fargo Arena.

President Bill Clinton staged a Halloween 1996 re-election campaign rally outside ASU's Gammage Auditorium in a late bid for the state's electoral votes. He became the only Democrat to carry Arizona since Harry Truman in 1948.

On Oct. 13, 2004, President George W. Bush met Democratic challenger John Kerry at Gammage in the third and final debate of that hard-fought campaign.